Injured fawn refuses to leave side of man who nursed her back to health

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(Oct. 27, 2015) – Darius Sasnauskas says he doesn’t endorse taking in wild animals as pets, but he had to make an exception.

The outdoorsman who lives in the Yellowstone National Park area found a white-tailed doe and two young offspring walking through his backyard in spring, reports KTLA. He noticed one of the babies seemed to be incapable of putting weight on one of its front legs. Eventually, the mother and other baby walk off, leaving the fawn alone.

Sasnauskas said multiple bears wander near his property and didn’t think the fawn would survive for long. So, he took her in, made a leg brace from an oatmeal box and watched her recover. One of his dogs, Mack, even guarded her and played with her. He chronicled his time with the deer in a 17-minute video posted on YouTube.

Sasnauskas told The Dodo that he had the fawn for about two weeks, caring for her until she was strong enough to return to the wild to find her mother.

But letting go wasn’t easy for the little deer. When Sasnauskas tried to release her, the fawn refused to leave his side. When he tried to walk away, she bounded after him.

According to Sasnauskas, the deer’s mother eventually returned. He wasn’t able to capture the reunion on camera.

The doe and two her fawns are still around, Sasnauskas said in the video description, and he’s seen them walking around in the summer and fall.

“I didn’t expect this story to become so popular,” he wrote. “I am sure that any of us with a little bit of a conscience about our existence, with love for the nature and animals would do the same.”